All edible fats are high in energy and fat-soluble vitamins, including vitamins A, D and E. Vegetable oils and spreadable margarines made from them, spreads and “liquid margarines” mainly contain healthier unsaturated fat. However, they also contain high quantities of energy and should thus only be used in moderation.
Use a vegetable fat spread on your bread and vegetable oils
The fats in your diet should mainly be soft in consistency, and the share of hard fats should be as low as possible. The best source of soft fats is vegetable oils and margarines with a high vegetable oil content, spreads and liquid vegetable fat products, or liquid margarines. The quality and quantity of these visible fats is easy to control. It is thus vital not to exclude them from your diet.
Have a thin layer of vegetable oil based margarine or spread on your bread. Add a small amount of oil-based dressing to your salads. In cooking and baking, you should use vegetable oil, margarines, vegetable oil spreads or liquid margarines. Rape seed oil is particularly highly recommended because of its versatile consistency of fatty acids. Fat blends that contain butter and milk fats and hard baking margarines are high in saturated fats, and so are hydrogenated vegetable fat, coconut fat, coconut milk and palm oil. Do not use them frequently.
Avoid hidden fat
The majority of our fat intake comes from hidden fat in foods, which mainly comprises saturated fats. The highest quantities of hidden saturated fat are found in sweet and savoury baked goods, meat-containing foods and dairy and meat products. You can avoid hidden fat by choosing low-fat foods. Prepare meat and fish without cream and breadcrumbs. Also remove visible fat from meat and skin from chicken before you eat it.